This a complete budget guide for a six-day trip to Japan in 2016.
*I have listed all my expenses but for instances where I split the cost with my boyfriend, I have indicated it and computed it to show the cost per person. The grand total found below will show how much I spent for my entire trip to Japan from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2, 2016.
Table of Contents
Expenses before leaving for my trip:
Flight: CAD$1,286.01 – flight itinerary Aug. 27, 2016 Calgary to Tokyo, Sept. 2, 2016 Tokyo to Manila, and Sept. 12, 2016 Manila to Calgary (booked on Dec. 22, 2015 at 11:30 am) Please take note, this is the cost for a multi-city flight between Calgary, Tokyo, and Manila.
Accommodation at Oak Hostel Zen in Tokyo: CAD$501.40 for five nights from Aug. 28,2016 to Sept.1, 2016 (booked on april 15,2016 9:08 pm) divided by two that equals to CAD$250.70 per person
Japan Rail Pass: CAD$697 for two 7-day Japan Rail Pass, a Japan Railway map and timetables, Japan by Train travel guide, and postage fees. Divide that by two so CAD$348.50 per person. A Japan Rail Pass is definitely worth it! If you have already decided that you want to purchase a Japan Rail Pass, I highly recommend buying it from here because we had a good experience with them and I’m really happy with their service.
Accommodation at Kinoe Ryokan in Kyoto: This is a more traditional Japanese accommodation.The total cost was approximately ¥51,800/CAD$690 which includes one night-accommodation for two people, a traditional Kaiseki dinner, and a traditional Japanese breakfast. I only paid CAD$200 and David, my boyfriend, paid the rest because he’s the best ;).
Disney Sea ticket: ¥7,400/CAD$98.67 this is a one-day pass to Disney Sea for one person
Total expenses before leaving for Japan: CAD$2,183.88
Expenses during the trip:
When I traveled, the exchange rate was approximately ¥75 for every CAD$1 so that’s what I used for this blog post. Please take note of the current exchange rate.
I also budgeted myself to only ¥10,000/CAD$133.33 per day. Some days, I spent less than my budget while on other days, I spent more.
August 28 – Tokyo
¥7,800/CAD$104 total cost of the pocket wifi from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2. Divided by two equals CAD$52 per person
(¥1,000/CAD$13.33 deposit oak hostel zen. This money was returned to us on the last day of our stay so this was not included in the grand total found below)
¥1,000/CAD$13.33 Suica card
¥1,100/CAD$14.67 dinner Japanese beef
¥900/CAD$12 bags of Kitkats
¥3,736/CAD$49.81 Starbucks two Tokyo mugs and two tall coffee jelly frappucino
Total daily expense: ¥10,636/CAD$141.81
August 29 – Kyoto
¥430/CAD$5.73 gyudon breakfast
¥400/CAD$5.33 two bottles of Evian water
¥1,516/CAD$20.21 Fushimi-Inari souvenirs
¥400/CAD$5.33 magnet
¥500/CAD$6.67 chicken skewer
¥500/CAD$6.67 Suica reload
¥400/CAD$5.33 entrance fee to Kinkakuji or Golden Pavilion
¥310/CAD$4.13 postcards
¥400/CAD$5.33 mango smoothie
¥1,728/CAD$23.04 souvenirs from tax free shop
Total daily expense: ¥6,584/CAD$87.77
August 30 – Kyoto and Osaka
¥270/CAD$3.60 ice cream
¥400/CAD$5.33 Kiyumizudera entrance fee
¥3/CAD$0.04 incense
¥200/CAD$2.67 trouble angel paper to wish for my troubles to go away
¥500/CAD$6.67 condensed milk shaved ice
¥1,300/CAD$17.33 Hello Kitty mug
¥8,100/CAD$108 full set yukata including obi and sandals
¥750/CAD$10 lunch cold noodles and katsudon with rice via vending machine ticket
¥344/CAD$4.59 waffles
¥600/CAD$8 Osaka Museum of Housing and Living entrance fee
¥486/CAD$6.48 postcards
¥240/CAD$3.20 ticket
¥600/CAD$8 beef on a stick
¥200/CAD$2.67 Coke
¥600/CAD$8 Osaka castle entrance fee
¥1,584/CAD$21.12 souvenirs
¥2,091/CAD$27.88 Kitkats and Pocky
¥240/CAD$3.20 train ticket
¥40/CAD$0.53 fare adjustment
¥380/CAD$5.07 Krispy Kreme
¥10/CAD$0.13 david vending machine
¥550/CAD$7.33 grilled pork
Total daily expense: ¥19,488/CAD$259.84
August 31 – Tokyo Disney Sea
¥1,000/CAD$13.33 Suica card
¥550/CAD$7.33 katsudon
¥240/CAD$3.20 Disney train fare
¥1,400/CAD$18.67 Minnie Mouse ears headband
¥620/CAD$8.27 two Disney Sea popsicles
¥3,090/CAD$41.20 buffet lunch (visa)
¥2,300/CAD$30.67 shirt (visa)
¥1,900/CAD$25.33 Disney shirt
¥1,600/CAD$21.33 baby Minnie Mouse sunglasses for LA
¥260/CAD$3.47 Disney train fare
¥550/CAD$7.33 katsudon
Total daily expense: ¥13,510/CAD$180.13
September 1 – Tokyo
¥529/CAD$7.05 Starbucks frappucino
¥350/CAD$4.67 magnet
¥2,034/CAD$27.12 breakfast sushi at Tsukiji fish market
¥300/CAD$4 mochi
¥100/CAD$1.33 water
¥560/CAD$7.47 souvenirs
¥460/CAD$6.13 lunch
¥1,100/CAD$14.67 ramen
¥1,000/CAD$13.33 chocolate drink
¥1,080/CAD$14.40 stationary and office souvenir
¥2,638/CAD$35.17 dress (visa)
¥810/CAD$10.80 stationaries
Total daily expense: ¥10,961/CAD$146.14
September 2 – Tokyo
¥1,010/CAD$13.47 airport food
Total daily expense: ¥1,010/CAD$13.47
Grand total: CAD$3,013.04
Japan is such a beautiful and culturally-rich country. A lot of people say that six days is not enough to explore this amazing country but if you know how to manage your time and plan your trip wisely, you can squeeze in a lot of things to do in Japan. As a bonus, here are 6 Best Tips to Travel Japan on a Budget.
Check out my other complete budget guides:
Four-day budget guide to Iceland
Two-week budget guide to Europe
Also check out a fellow blogger’s “Best Travel Apps for Japan”
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This is great. I love the budget for kit kats. I was in Tokyo earlier this year and found a few different ones to try. Definitely want to go back to Japan and see some other parts of the country.
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Aaaah! How long were you in Japan for? And most importantly, what kinds of KitKat did you get? 🙂
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wow, always wanted to visit Japan and being able to speak Japanese I have no excuse why I haven’t visited yet. Looks like a great trip and thank you for the break down, very handy to know.
I always like finding articles on travel cost breakdown, like this one. Knowing what to expect in terms of cost is really helpful.
The breakdown of all the expenses is really helpful. I knew it was expensive, but I didn’t realize how much. Thanks so much for posting.
I find budget break down blogs so useful! I’d love to go to Japan and it is so helpful to see the actual cost of being there!
Great info! I’ve always heard that Japan was expensive so this post will come in handy when I’m budgeting for our trip! It’s great to have prices for different bits and pieces you wouldn’t think of (like the KitKats 😉 )
Love that you did such an amazing trip on a really low budget. I’m impressed! Looks like you had a lot of fun, ate some amazing things and didn’t break the bank!
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You speak Japanese?? I envy you! You should definitely find your way there 🙂
Thank you, Jing! I’m glad you find my post helpful 🙂
Thank you! I agree! but every penny was worth it 🙂
You would fall in love with Japan! 🙂
hehehe are you a big fun of KitKats, too? 🙂
Thank you! It’s actually nice to know what people think about my budget. I never know if I spend too much or too little.
Very helpful cost breakdown. All the little things can add up quickly! Japan rail pass is worth it isn’t it! My favourite country; I can’t wait to go back.
Wow, Japan is even more expensive than what I thought… 🙁
But I will go anyway someday. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I agree! when did you go? do you have blog posts about Japan? I’d love to read them!
Japan is a must-go place! Definitely worth every single penny 🙂
Great for those who need to budget. Japan is one of those places that can be really expensive depending on their local currency. You’ve been very detailed here, would have taken some discipline to keep all of this.
Thanks, Kerri!
Great write up! I’m glad you shared the break down of your expenses when you were there! I’ve been to Japan and it’s definitely a wonderful place. This will definitely help a lot of travelers visiting Japan to at least make it more affordable, since its already known to be expensive.
Thanks for sharing, Jusz! One question, do most shrines/temples have entrance fees? I’m planning to go temple-hopping in Kyoto sometime this year! Thanks!
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I’ve only been to a few, including Kinkaku-ji and Kiyumizudera both in Kyoto, and yes we paid entrance fees to those. Fushimi Inari was free. so I would say most have entrance fees ranging from about 400-600 yen 🙂
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